The Naked Truth: Kim Kardashian (And Other Celebs) Unretouched

"The message is embrace your curves and who you are..." —Kim Kardashian

KIM KARDASHIAN

"I don't get why everyone is always going on about my butt. I'm Armenian. It's normal," says Kim Kardashian. "My butt is probably not as big as you might think, because I have small legs and a small waist, which makes it appear bigger."

Even so, her curves helped rocket the 29-year-old into a one-woman multimillion-dollar earning industry. But they used to be nothing but a source of tears. "I was wearing a C cup by the time I was 11. I would go to bed and pray, 'Please, Lord, don't let my boobs grow any bigger,'" remembers Kardashian. "I hated what was happening."

Growing up in Los Angeles surrounded by blonde California girls, the five-foot-two-and-a-half-inch brunette found solace in the vintage images of Sophia Loren and Raquel Welch tacked on her wall. "Those became the healthy bodies to look up to. Then came Salma Hayek and Jennifer Lopez. I related to them," she says.

Now she's learned to be happy with her looks. "I might have a little bit of cellulite. I might not be toned everywhere. I might struggle in this area or that. But accepting that just empowers me," she says.

Taking care of herself is part of it. "I'm trying to eat better — which is a struggle. I like carbs," she says, laughing. "I didn't [used to] work out. I do now, even when I'd rather sleep in. I'm a firm believer that you should be your best you."

Kardashian still has shy moments. "A good six months have to go by before I'll leave the lights on for a boyfriend," she says. And she didn't love her 2007 Playboy cover. "I'm sorry I did Playboy. I was uncomfortable," she remembers, though at the time she was excited. "Go for it," she recalls her mother saying. "They might never ask you again. Our show isn't on the air yet. No one knows who you are. Do it and you'll have these beautiful pictures to look at when you're my age."

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This time around, Kardashian is much happier. "It's definitely scary, but it's very liberating," she says. "I think the message is embrace your curves and who you are. I feel proud if young girls look up to me and say, 'I'm curvy, and I'm proud of it now.'"

JOY BRYANT

Though her svelte form might make women jealous now, Joy Bryant loathed her body when she was growing up in the South Bronx. "It was not cool to be so skinny. My 'best friend' would tell me I looked like a boy. I wore my cousin's hand-me-downs — who was a boy."

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A scholarship to a prestigious Connecticut boarding school reshaped her perception. "These girls were telling me my body was amazing, which made me feel okay," she says, though not for the healthiest of reasons. "Some of them had eating disorders because of pressure from their own mothers to be thin." The psychological yo-yoing only continued after she began modeling at 19 and was told that her athletic build was too big. Then came a move to Hollywood, where guys would suggest she should eat a cheeseburger. "But I was the same weight as always," says Bryant.

With age came a few pounds and, for Bryant, peace of mind. "I'm not 25. I'm 35. I'm 10 years heavier and I'm married," says Bryant, who wed stuntman Dave Pope in June 2008. "I'm not going to lie and say, 'Oh, I'm so secure in who I am. I don't let things bother me,'" she continues. "There are times when we're at our weakest. But maybe it's not your body. It's your mind playing tricks."

Or, sometimes, other women. "Women are the harshest critics of other women. There needs to be a greater acceptance individually and collectively or nothing's ever going to change," she says. "You'll never be thin enough, blonde enough, black enough. So enough is enough."

Amanda de Cadenet

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"I've always been the curviest girl..."—Amanda de Cadenet, Photographer

AMANDA DE CADENET

"The reason I wanted to do this story is that I'm challenged with my physicality," says photographer Amanda de Cadenet. "I've always been the curviest girl. Since having twins four years ago, I'm now super curvy. It's not the body I used to have.

"I get frustrated that I can't find clothes to fit from designers I love. Roland Mouret and Marc Jacobs send me the big-girl sizes, but other than that it's slim pickings," she says. "I don't try to hide the obvious. I try to own it as best I can. Marc jokes that no matter what's in the collection, even if it's for curvy women, I'm still busting out."

This shoot, as well as launching a Website this month devoted to women's issues, is a very personal project for the 37-year-old mother of three. (Her eldest is 18-year-old model Atlanta de Cadenet.)

"I see how some of my daughter's friends struggle with their bodies. You look at magazines and think, That looks good on that skinny girl, but it doesn't look like that on me," she says.

After posing, de Cadenet was pleasantly surprised by the results. "This is really about women and girls accepting their bodies," she explains. "If we're more comfortable with our naked bodies, we might be more comfortable with our clothed selves."

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